ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Finance
ADB, India Sign $ 490 Million Loan for PPP to Upgrade Madhya Pradesh Roads
The Asian Development Bank  and the Government of India today signed a $490 million loan for public-private partnership  project to upgrade about 1,600 km of state highways and major district roads  from single-lane to two-lane widths in the state of Madhya Pradesh. An additional $286 million investment will be mobilised through private sector participation under the PPP modality.
The signatories to the loan agreement were Shri Sameer Kumar Khare, Additional Secretary , Department of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Finance, and Mr Kenichi Yokoyama, Country Director of ADB’s India Resident Mission.
After signing the loan agreement, Shri Khare said that state highways and major district roads provide a crucial link between rural roads and national highways. The upgradation of these roads under the project will improve rural and peri-urban connectivity in the state and improve access to markets and better services.
While Mr Yokoyama said that the project continues ADB’s engagement with the state’s road sector since 2002. This will open a new partnership by introducing PPP through the hybrid-annuity model , thereby leveraging government financing and improving sustainability of capital investments.
The HAM is a mix of engineering, procurement, construction, and build-operate-transfer. This passes the responsibility of design, implementation, and operation and maintenance obligations to the private sector, while attracting some private sector financing. Under this model, the government will release 60% of the total project cost during construction, to be paid to the concessionaire in tranches linked to completion milestones. The remaining 40% is arranged by the concessionaire in the form of equity and commercial debt. Once the project is completed, the government will repay the concessionaire’s financial investment over 10 years.
The project will upgrade 750 km of state highways and 850 km of MDRs to two-lane and all-weather standards with road safety features. It will also develop an e-maintenance system, which can record defects or required maintenance, along with a training program to develop capacity on contract implementation and project finance in the Madhya Pradesh Road Development Corporation. Since 2002, ADB has provided the state government with five loans to develop its road network, improving about 7,300 km of roads or about 11% of the total network.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.
Prime Minister's Office
India has exciting opportunities for investment in urbanization, PM tells investors
Post Covid world will need a reset of mindset and practices
100 smart cities have prepared projects worth 30 billion dollars
Addresses 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum
The Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi invited the investors to invest in the Indian urbanization. Speaking at the 3rd Annual Bloomberg New Economy Forum today via video conferencing, the Prime Minister said “If you are looking to invest in urbanisation, India has exciting opportunities for you. If you are looking to invest in mobility, India has exciting opportunities for you. If you are looking to invest in innovation, India has exciting opportunities for you. If you are looking to invest in sustainable solutions, India has exciting opportunities for you. These opportunities come along-with A vibrant democracy. A business friendly climate.A huge market. And a government which shall leave no stone unturned to make India a preferred global investment destination.”
Shri Modi said that post COVID-19 world will need a restart, however the restart will not be possible without a reset. A reset of mindset. A reset of processes and a reset of practices. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to develop new protocols in every field. “This opportunity should be grabbed by the world if we want to develop resilient systems for the future. We should think about post COVID requirements of the world. A good starting point would be the rejuvenation of our urban centers”, The Prime Minister added.
Dwelling on the theme of rejuvenation of the urban centres the Prime Minister emphasized the centrality of the people in the recovery process. Terming people as the biggest resources and the communities as the biggest building block, the Prime Minister said “the pandemic has re-emphasised that our biggest resource, as societies and as businesses, is our people. The post-Covid world has to be built by nurturing this key and fundamental resource.”
The Prime Minister stressed the need to carry forward the learnings of the pandemic period. Talking about the cleaner environment during the lockdown period he wondered whether we can build sustainable cities where a cleaner environment is the norm and not an exception? “It has been our endeavour in India to build urban centres, which have the amenities of a city but the spirit of a village,” Shri Modi said.
He informed the forum about the recent initiatives for revitalizing the Indian urban landscape such as Digital India, Startup India, affordable housing, Real Estate  Act and Metro Rail in 27 cities. “We are on track to deliver close to 1000 kms of Metro Rail system in the country by 2022,” the Prime Minister informed the forum.
The Prime Minister said “we have selected 100 Smart Cities through a two-stage process. It was a nationwide competition upholding the philosophy of cooperative and competitive federalism. These cities have prepared projects worth almost two lakh crore rupees or 30 billion dollars. And projects worth almost one lakh forty thousand crore rupees or 20 billion dollars have been completed or nearing completion.”
Ministry of Finance
Cabinet approves Agreement and Protocol between India and Chile for the avoidance of double taxation
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi today approved the signing of the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement  and Protocol between the Republic of India and the Republic of Chile for the elimination of double taxation and the prevention of fiscal evasion and avoidance with respect to taxes on income.
Major impact:
The DTAA will facilitate elimination of double taxation. Clear allocation of taxing rights between Contracting States through the Agreement will provide tax certainty to investors & businesses of both countries while augmenting the flow of investment through fixing of tax rates in source State on interest, royalties and fees for technical services. The Agreement and Protocol implements minimum standards and other recommendations of G-20 OECD Base Erosion Profit Shifting  Project. Inclusion of Preamble Text, a Principal Purpose Test, a general anti-abuse provision in the Agreement along with a Simplified Limitation of Benefits Clause as per BEPS Project will result in curbing of tax planning strategies which exploit gaps and mismatches in tax rules.
Implementation Strategy and Targets:
After Cabinet approval, necessary formalities for bringing the Agreement and Protocol into force will be completed. Implementation would be watched and reported by the Ministry.
Ministry of Coal
Opening of Technical Bids for Auction of Coal Mines for Sale of Coal
Second Attempt of Auction
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The auction process of 4 coal mines  North and Seregarha) for sale of coal was launched by the Nominated Authority, Ministry of Coal on December 09, 2020. This was the second attempt of auction for these coal mines, for which the process was annulled in first attempt due to number of Technically Qualified Bidders being less than 2.
Pursuant to Para 2.2. of the Office Memorandum No. CBA2-13011/2/2020-CBA2 dated June 1, 2020 issued by Ministry of Coal, the Nominated Authority had initiated the second attempt of auction with the same terms and conditions as in the first annulled attempt of auction but with the highest Initial Offer of Technically Qualified Bidder received in the first annulled attempt of auction as the Floor Price for the second attempt of auction.
The last date for submission of technical bid was January 27, 2021.Technical Bids of bidders, comprising of online and offline bid documents, were opened onJanuary 28, 2021, 12:00noon onwards at Ministry of Coal, Shastri Bhawan, New Delhi, in the presence of the representative of bidders. Bidders were provided with the option of joining the meeting in-person or virtually.The online bids were decrypted and opened electronically and subsequently, sealed envelopes containing offline bid documents were also opened.One bid has been received for Kuraloi  North coal mine. No bids have been received for the other coal mines.
The bids will be evaluated by a multi-disciplinary Technical Evaluation Committee and further actions shall be taken in accordance with provisions of Tender Document, under the auction process.
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Shri Piyush Goyal chairs meeting on Lab Grown Diamonds; Focus on Research and Development, setting up common facilities and skilling of adequate manpower to fuel growth
Projected employment creation in the sector could be upto 25 lakh by 2025
The Union Minister for Commerce & Industry; Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal chaired a meeting with the representatives of Lab-Grown Diamonds Industry today in New Delhi.
Discussions on promotion of Research and Development, setting up enabling common facilities and skilling of adequate manpower to serve this emerging sector took place. Currently, India contributes around 15% in global production of lab-grown diamonds for which it is presently self-sufficient. However, keeping in mind the future potential, there is a need to maintain technological self-reliance in production of machinery and a leadership position in production lab grown diamonds. Given India’s expertise in diamond polishing, it is imperative that India positions itself firmly in the lab-grown diamond sector too since the process of polishing are similar. The projected employment creation could be to the tune of 25 lakh by the year 2025.
Lab-grown diamonds are diamonds which are grown inside a lab using cutting-edge technology that replicates the natural diamond growing process and the result is a man-made diamond that is chemically, physically, and optically the same as those grown beneath the Earth’s surface. Lab-grown diamonds can be created by two processes - High Pressure High Temperature  which is used in China and Chemical Vapor Deposition  which is used in USA and India.
Besides jewellery industry, lab-grown diamonds are also used in computer chips, satellites, 5G networks as they can be used in extreme environments as it has potential to operate at higher speeds while using less power than the silicon-based chips.
Like natural diamonds, India has proved its leadership role in the cutting and polishing of lab-grown diamonds. India’s exports of polished lab-grown diamonds were USD 274 million, USD 473 million, USD 637 million and 1293 million during 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21 and 2020-21 respectively. Annual growth during the same periods were 72%, 35% and 103%.
India exports polished Lab Grown diamonds to USA, Hongkong, UAE, Israel and Belgium etc. USA accounts for around 67% of India’s exports followed by Hongkong with a share of 14%.
Shri B.V.R Subrahmanyam, Secretary and Mr Vipul Bansal, Joint Secretary were present in meeting. Industry was represented by Mr Colin Shah, chairman GJEPC, Mr Sabyasachi Ray, Executive Director GJEPC, Mr Samir Joshi Executive Director Indian Diamond Institute Surat, Mr Pramod Agarwal, chairman National Gem & Jewellery Council of India and other Industry representatives.
Prime Minister's Office
PM speaks to Gujarat CM regarding mishap in Morbi
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has spoken to the Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Bhupendrabhai Patel and other officials regarding the mishap in Morbi. Shri Modi has sought urgent mobilisation of teams for rescue operations.
The Prime Minister's office tweeted;
"PM @narendramodi spoke to Gujarat CM @Bhupendrapbjp and other officials regarding the mishap in Morbi. He has sought urgent mobilisation of teams for rescue ops. He has asked that the situation be closely and continuously monitored, and extend all possible help to those affected."
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Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Cabinet approves MoUs signed between India and Foreign Broadcasters in the field of Radio and Television.
The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has given ex-post facto approval for the MoUs between India and Foreign Broadcasters in the field of Radio and Television.
Benefits:
The MoUs with the Foreign Broadcasters will help:
- Public broadcaster in exploring new visions;
- New Strategies to address the demands of new technologies and stiff competition;
- Media liberalization; and
- Globalization.
Major Impact:
Broadcasting of programmes to be obtained through mutual exchange, co-production will lead to equity and inclusiveness among viewer/listeners of DD and AIR. Exchanges of technical Know-how, expertise and training of manpower would help the public broadcaster to meet the emerging challenges in the field of broadcasting.
Ministry of Finance
GST EVASION
The Government proposes to integrate a FASTag Bank Mechanism with e-way bill and Logistic Data Services to track movement of goods and check GST evasion. The Government is contemplating integration of E-Way Bill mechanism of GST with FASTag System of National Highway Authority of India . The aspect of Logistic Databank integration with FASTag System is being examined.
A Committee of Officers comprising of officers from Central Government, State Governments, GSTN , NIC , GST Council, to examine the issue of use of RFID data for strengthening of E-Way Bill mechanism under GST, was formed by GST Council. The representatives of NHAI and NPCI  were also co-opted in the committee. The Committee of Officers has submitted its report to the GST Council, recommending integration of FASTag system with E-Way Bill mechanism. The recommendations of the Committee are under consideration by GST Council. Further, with regard to integration of FASTag with LDB, a committee comprising of Central Board and Indirect Taxes and Customs , NHAI & its associates, NPCI, GSTN, NIC, Delhi Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development Corporation  & its associates was formed to examine the feasibility of the same. The committee has submitted its report, which is being examined.
This was stated by the Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Jal Shakti
Status of Jal Jeevan Mission
Since August 2019, Government of India, in partnership with States, is implementing Jal Jeevan Mission  to make provision of potable tap water supply every rural household by 2024.
At the time of the announcement of the Jal Jeevan Mission, 3.23 Crore rural households were reported to have tap water connections. So far, 6.70 Crore households have been provided with tap water connections in the last 35 months. Thus, as on 3rd August, 2022, out of 19.11 Crore rural households in the country, around 9.93 Crore  households are reported to have tap water supply in their homes.
A number of steps have been taken to plan and implement JJM in the whole country with speed, inter alia, which includes joint discussion and finalization of annual action plan  of States/ UTs, regular review of implementation, capacity building and knowledge sharing through workshops/ conferences/ webinars and field visits by a multi-disciplinary team to provide technical support, etc. A detailed Operational Guideline for the implementation of JJM; Margdarshika for Gram Panchayats & VWSCs to provide safe drinking water in rural households and Guidelines on a special campaign to provide piped water supply in anganwadi centers, ashramshalas and schools have been shared with States/ UTs, to facilitate planning and implementation of Jal Jeevan Mission. For online monitoring, JJM–Integrated Management Information System  and JJM–Dashboard has been put in place. Provision has also been made for transparent online financial management through Public Financial Management System .
So far, States of Goa, Telangana, Haryana and Union Territories of A &N Islands, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu and Puducherry have reported to provide tap water connection to all households. The State/ UT, district & village-wise status of tap water connection in rural households etc. as reported by States/ UTs is in public domain and available on JJM dashboard at:
https://ejalshakti.gov.in/jjmreport/JJMIndia.aspx
This information was given by the Minister of State for Jal Shakti , Shri Prahlad Singh Patel in a written reply in Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Steel
Steel Ministry Creates Level Playing Field for Steel Producers
In order to provide a level playing field to steel manufacturers, both SMEs and large players, with different capacities and following different routes of steel production, Ministry of Steel has stopped classifying steel producers as integrated steel producers, primary steel producers, secondary steel producers. Instead, once the steel product is certified by the Bureau of Indian Standard and meets the desired specifications, no distinction shall be made on account of the basic input material and the process followed. 53 quality control orders have been issued in this regard laying down the quality standards for several steel products.
Government engineering departments especially in the C.P.W.D., Military Engineering Service and N.B.C.C. have been asked to ensure adherence to the above clarification and avoid any restrictive practices in their tenders.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
3-day workshop on Web Accessibility organized by the Rehabilitation Council of India from 21.03.2023 to 23.03.2023.
Focus on making disabled - friendly digital platforms
Workshop aimed to create awareness and impart knowledge of fundamentals of digital accessibility including social media accessibility
Workshop inaugurated by Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, DEPwD and Chairperson, RCI
The objective of the workshop was to help software developers to acquire the know-how for making digital platforms more disabled-friendly.
The workshop was inaugurated by Shri Rajesh Aggarwal, Secretary, DEPwD and Chairperson, RCI on 21.03.2023 followed with welcome remarks for the participants and the trainers ranging from various reputed agencies. This certified training program aimed to create awareness and impart knowledge of fundamentals of digital accessibility which includes the roadmaps of accessibility and the procedures involved, creating accessible documents, social media accessibility etc.
Eminent Speakers of the sessions were Sh. Amar Jain, Mr. Rahul Bajaj co-founder of Mission Accessibility, Sh. Dhananjay Bhole, Srinivasu Chakravarthula,Shri. Dipendra Manocha and Mr. Sushil and Sheezan from Xavier's Resource Centre for the Visually Challanged.
The participation in this workshop is varied across the spectrum of Government and non-government domain, which includes the participation across various National Institutes of DEPwD including private web developers from various entities etc.
Today the valedictory session ended with certificate distribution to all the participants.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
Col. Rajyavardhan Rathore announces ex gratia relief to next of the kin of Doordarshan News Cameraperson killed in an Attack by Left Wing Extremist 
In an unfortunate incident, Doordarshan News Cameraperson Shri Achyutanand Sahu was killed in an attack by Left Wing Extremist  in Dantewada today. Two security officers were also killed in the attack that took place in Aranpur village in Dantewada. The Doordarshan Team was moving in Dantewada for pre election coverage of Chhattisgarh Legislative Assembly Elections.
Union Minister of State  for Information & Broadcasting and Sports & Youth Affairs Col.Rajyavardhan Rathore , has expressed deep grief and shock over the tragic death of Shri Sahu. Condemning the attack he said, “The insurgents will not weaken our resolve. We will prevail”.
He also announced an ex gratia relief to the next of the kin of Doordarshan Cameraperson killed in the LWE attack. He said that Rs. 10 lakh would be given as ex gratia payment by Doordarshan and Rs. 5 lakh would be given from Journalist Welfare Fund of Press Information Bureau.
Ministry of Tourism
139 Cruise ships carrying over 1.6 lakh passengers visited India in 2017-18: Shri K J Alphons
In the year 2017-18, a total of 139 Cruise ships carrying 1,62,660 passengers visited India at six major ports namely Mumbai Port, Mormugao Port, New Mangalore Port, Cochin Port, Chennai Port and Kolkata Port.
The five major ports of the country namely, Mumbai Port, Mormugao Port, New Mangalore Port, Cochin Port and Chennai Port have been developed to attract cruise ships with dedicated terminals and other related infrastructure for berthing of cruise vessels and embarking and disembarking of cruise passengers.
The Ministry of Shipping has brought out a Vision Document with a view to develop India as a Cruise shipping destination. The vision document envisages to develop supporting infrastructure for cruise tourism at ports, to give special focus on developing the domestic cruise industry through policy supports, incentives and port infrastructure development. Separately, Ministry of Shipping & Ministry of Tourism has jointly appointed a consultant for ‘Preparation of Action Plan for Development of Cruise Tourism in India.
The Cruise tourism operations augment local economic activities as business opportunities arise for supply for provisions, transport, hotels, bunkering etc. to cruise ships which generate direct and indirect employment and help in growth of local economy.
This information was given by Shri K. J. Alphons, Union Minister of State  for Tourism in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for distribution of Aids and Assistive Devices to Divyangjan and Senior Citizens in Bhadohi 
A ‘Samajik Adhikarita Shivir’ for distribution of aids and assistive devices to ‘Divyangjan’ under the ADIP Scheme and to Senior Citizens under the ‘ Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana’ of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India will be organized by the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities  in association with Artificial Limbs Manufacturing Corporation of India ,a Miniratna-II PSU under Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India and District Administration, Bhadohi  on 16.12.2021 at Vibhuti Narayan, Government Inter Collage, Gyanpur in Bhadohi District, Uttar Pradesh.
Total 2818 number of Divyangjan and Senior Citizens beneficiaries have been identified under ADIP Scheme and Rashtriya Vayoshri Yojana  of Government of India during the assessment camps organized by ALIMCO at different location from 8th November to 13th November 2021.
A total of 7759 aids and assistive devices valued at Rs.2.62 Crore will be distributed free of cost among 2308 Divyangjan and 510 Senior Citizens beneficiaries by following the SOP prepared by the Department in view of COVID-19 Pandemic.
The main function of distribution camp is going to be held on 16.12.2021 at 10.30 AM at Vibhuti Narayan, Government Inter Collage, Gyanpur, Bhadohi. Dr. Virendra Kumar, Union Minister for Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India will inaugurate the distribution camp virtually whereas Shri Ramesh Chand Bind, Member of Parliament, Bhadohi.
Senior officials from ALIMCO and District Administration, Bhadohi will also be present during the function.